RedHawks Fall to WMU 23-13 in MAC Championship Game

Saturday, December 6

Detroit, Mich. (Ford Field)

12 p.m.

Miami University

7-6 , 6-2

Western Michigan (MAC Championship)

9-4 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Miami (OH)

Western Michigan

Photo by: Jeffrey Sabo

RedHawks Fall to WMU 23-13 in MAC Championship Game

12/6/2025 3:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

DETROIT— Western Michigan scored on the third play of the game and never trailed en route to a 23-13 win over the Miami University football team in the MAC Championship Game Saturday at Ford Field.

The RedHawks fall to 7-6 on the season and will await word on Sunday about a potential bowl destination. The Broncos improve to 9-4 with the result.

"Really proud of my guys: We took this thing maybe a little further than I thought we would at different points this year," head coach Chuck Martin said afterward. "At the beginning of the year, I definitely always expect to be in Detroit. I knew we had a changing of the guard; you have 28 seniors you're losing, and you don't have a lot of returners. But I have a lot of confidence in who we had...

"The year was up and down...but really proud of our coaches and players. We regrouped. Tons of kids played for us this year: The amount of kids that actually played and competed and helped us win games...

"Just really proud of this group. They kept coming and coming. I'm pretty optimistic, and a few weeks ago...Detroit was the last thing on my mind. Then we regrouped and had a great road win against Buffalo and came back and got Ball State and got here.

"So just proud of everybody in the organization, to be honest with you."

HOW IT HAPPENED

After an early 67-yard touchdown run by WMU's Jalen Buckley, Miami answered back on its first possession. Thomas Gotkowski hit Kam Perry on back-to-back passes for a total of 50 yards, including a highlight-reel one-handed catch at the WMU 10-yard line that was ruled complete after video review. A third-down roughing-the-passer call on the Broncos then extended Miami's drive in the red zone, and Jordan Brunson scored from two yards out on the next snap. The PAT was blocked to keep Western ahead 7-6 with just over three minutes gone.
The Broncos moved into Miami territory again on their next possession, but an Eli Blakey sack helped the RedHawks' defense hold for an eventual field goal by WMU. Western led 10-6 after the first quarter.
A WMU field goal with 13:43 remaining in the half stretched the margin to 13-6. Neither team scored again in the second quarter until the Broncos tacked on a 50-yard field goal in the final minute to make it 16-6 at the break.
Western stretched its lead with a 64-yard touchdown run by Buckley less than two minutes into the second half to take a 23-6 lead. Miami drove the ball as far as the WMU 23-yard line late in the third quarter to try and mount a comeback, but turned the ball over on downs.
The RedHawks trimmed the deficit with 6:43 to go on a six-yard slant from Henry Hesson to Cole Weaver that pulled the Red and White within 23-13. Miami drove eight plays in 80 yards, using three straight completions from Hesson (including a 36-yarder to Weaver) and a 16-yard run by D'Shawntae Jones to move the ball into the red zone and set up the touchdown pass.
After the Miami defense used its timeouts and came up with a fourth-down stop to get the ball back, the RedHawks had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but were unable to put together another scoring drive. Miami got the ball back one last time inside two minutes left after stopping a fake field goal attempt short of the goal line, but WMU went on to close out a 23-13 win and claim the championship trophy.

NOTES:

Blakey led Miami with a game-high 15 tackles.
Jackson Kuwatch matched his career high with 11 tackles by halftime, finishing with a career-best 14 stops.
Brock Uihlein, who entered the day with 15 career tackles, made 11 tackles Saturday, including 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
Perry went over 100 receiving yards (101) for the fourth time this year and now owns the ninth-best receiving season in Miami history (966 yards).

UP NEXT:
Bowl pairings will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7. Check back to MiamiRedHawks.com for more information.

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